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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24069493">Dogfic</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Maidencryptid/pseuds/Maidencryptid'>Maidencryptid</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, Super Dangan Ronpa 2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Canon Compliant, Dogs, Friendship, Gen, Happy Ending, Jabberwock Island (Dangan Ronpa), Minor Hinata Hajime/Komaeda Nagito, Minor Kirigiri Kyoko/Naegi Makoto, Minor Kuzuryu Fuyuhiko/Pekoyama Peko, Post-Canon, Super Dangan Ronpa 2 Spoilers, it's just mentions of the ships or teasing it sorry</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-05-08</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-05-08</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-02 19:48:16</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>3,844</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24069493</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Maidencryptid/pseuds/Maidencryptid</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>After a discussion with Hajime, Makoto agrees it would be a good idea to bring some pet dogs to Jabberwock island in hopes of lifting the spirits of the group starting a new life there</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>30</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Dogfic</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Makoto might have been one of the best guys Hajime knew.</p><p>He had not felt terribly well that day, and evidently neither did the rest of the island's residents. Maybe something about the weather. It wasn't that it never lifted into those sunny pearls of clouds that they had gotten used to during the Neo World Program; it was just rarer now, a luxury. He supposed he should be grateful they were far enough from the brunt of the city's pollution to even get those days. It just hadn't been one of them when he spoke to Makoto.</p><p>He'd said something or other along the idea of dogs.<br/>In his better moods, Nagito would want to talk about them. Sometimes he just recounted things his own childhood pet had done, or talked about different breeds he liked and why. He tended to speak in a quieter tone than usual then, as if Hajime wasn't there, because it didn't make sense that he'd listen to something so benign.<br/>So eventually, an idea formed. Hajime mentioned something or other about dogs to Makoto, and that had piqued the Future Foundation employee's interest.<br/>"Good thinking, Hinata-san! I wonder if they'd let me send over another ship?" he said pleasantly over video call.<br/>"I haven't even explained exactly what for yet..." Hajime hesitated, he didn't want to ask the guy to go out of his way for a half-baked plan.<br/>"Hm, I can't exactly explain it, but I trust you," and then he smiled, damn overindulgent smile, "there's two skilled animal trainers with your group anyway, and the rest would probably benefit from it... is what you're thinking, right?"<br/>He swallowed a bit uncomfortably, "Yeah."<br/>And that was good enough, Makoto swore he'd get to work on finding them a suitable dog or two.</p><p>They were in the lunchroom looking out over the vast expanse of gray sea when the ship appeared as a dot on the horizon.<br/>"What the fuck?" Fuyuhiko eloquently exclaimed, one of the first to catch it, "The ship isn't due to be back yet, that's awful suspicious."<br/>"Oooh, the ship? Where, where, which one!" Ibuki called, nearly bowling him over from the next seat to get a better look.<br/>In tense annoyance, he rubbed his shaved head where she had elbowed him. He had taken his duty as one of the so-called 'guards' of the island pretty seriously, and his mafia upbringing certainly didn't make him any milder. He was right to be wary of the ship, Hajime hadn't warned them. It was supposed to be a surprise.<br/>He began packing up his half-eaten toast, "Why don't we go down to the beach to greet them,” he shrugged. Fuyuhiko didn't seem to like that idea, but knowing his friend would be there in case anything went wrong (which it wouldn't) coerced him into following along.<br/>"Do you think they're bringing any goodies?" Ibuki was already heading down the stairs, sliding along the handrail.</p><p>The beach was pretty spotless, a good landing spot. They had spent the first several weeks after the wake-up just getting everyone back on their feet, then cleaning and fixing everything they could. The most unexpected and sometimes terrifying things had washed up there, including a whole disembodied robot Monokuma head.<br/>A few of the other kids (well, would they be considered kids anymore?) had gathered to the sound of the distant blowhorn. Hajime scanned the small crowd to make sure Nagito was there. It was a gift for everyone, but he was the source of inspiration. It almost made him nervous. His eyes caught the exceedingly pale ones of the boy he was finally beginning to feel comfortable calling a friend. Those eyes responded with a deceptively laid-back smile, and a small quirk of one eyebrow.<br/>Nagito looked like he was going to say something when Gundham arrived in the midst of them. "What is the meaning of this unannounced arrival, Do they mean to declare war on our island abandoned by even the gods?!" he laughed boisterously, "Well... Let the fiends come!"<br/>Oh man, Gundham was going to love this.</p><p>The boat slowly pulled into the small dock, a little undersized for the vehicle using it but effective nonetheless. Almost everyone was here now, except mysteriously Hiyoko and not-mysteriously Ryota.<br/>A mussed head in a too-loose suit was waving at them from the deck, Makoto himself. A good few of them cheered, Nekomaru, Ibuki and Akane very loudly in chorus. Nagito looked like he might pass out at the sight of him, but that was probably normal.<br/>Three dogs, each starkly unique, came bounding down the gangplank with Makoto trailing behind them. He was dragged along by the leashes towards them. There were equal reactions of panic, stupefaction and joy across the board.<br/>"Nice to see you all again, the Future Foundation has a gift for you," Makoto told them, still struggling to rein in the excited animals.<br/>Gundham immediately stepped in, unable to watch the amateur flounder under his charge any longer. His expression was definitely-not-glee as he stroked one of their ears while muttering to himself about 'magnificent beasts'; he must have missed being able to hang around with canines.<br/>"A... gift?" Peko sounded out, already transfixed by one of the sleeker looking animals. Fuyuhiko sighed and smiled at her. He grabbed her hand and led her forward to place it on the dark, shiny coat. If she had been a weaker woman she would have squealed.<br/>"Exactly, a gift," Makoto told her, "Hajime gave me the idea!"<br/>She wasn't particularly listening, she was trying to find the best angle to hug the thing. "Ah, excellent taste," Gundham nodded, "the doberman is a noble breed, and I'd say well suited to a steely master of the sword such as yourself."<br/>"What are the other two?" Fuyuhiko felt compelled to ask.<br/>He pointed to a somewhat tufty-looking thing with droopy ears and intelligent eyes, "that is a poodle mix, although I cannot distinguish every aspect of its lineage," and finally, "that last one, its long fur and perky disposition leads me to believe it is a cross between a sheltie and a belgian shepherd, guardian of the flock, god over cattle!" He sounded proud of himself.<br/>Nagito was inching forward a little, his body language conveyed 'am I allowed?'. The poodle mix stepped forward as if bound under spell, perhaps not surprising considering she had just been in close proximity to the self-proclaimed warlock. She pressed her wet nose into the blistered palm of his hand. He kneeled down, a gentle shiver passing over him. Oh… that was nice...<br/>"I can't stay long, but if these new companions help give all of you even a little hope, I think I won't mind getting scolded for missing work," Makoto told them warmly. He made it sound so relaxed, as if the last time his work had 'scolded' him he hadn't nearly gotten sliced to ribbons.<br/>It was probably fine, things had settled down over there too.<br/>They bid the boy goodbye and he was off to saving the world from despair again, or whatever protagonists like him got up to. Kissing his girlfriend? Probably.</p><p>Naming them was an entertaining discussion. Well, Hajime might have described it as aggravating.<br/>The patrol team, formed by power couple Peko and Fuyuhiko, were given easy claim of the doberman. With a little inspiration from Gundham, she was baptized Black Cherub.<br/>There was significant debate over a good name for the darling poodle mix. A fork was even flung overhead at some point, resulting in an undignified shriek from Teruteru when it landed directly in his hair and got caught. She sat patiently and unbothered as this went on, occasionally licking an unsuspecting hand that had been left hanging by its seat. The curly girl seemed wonderfully cut out to be a therapy dog, which would have abundant use in a group like them. Exactly what Hajime had been wishing for. <br/>In the end, since she seemed to have taken a liking to Nagito, they chose 'Fortune'.<br/>The shepherd dog, they'd had to adjourn the discussion. Round and round in circles they'd gone. Nekomaru thought 'Big Boy' was perfect, Sonia wanted to give it the name of some famed serial killer and Teruteru suggested something extremely rude that no one wanted to repeat. A gloom of indecision hung over the table, and they decided they should do something productive in the meantime.</p><p> </p><p>It was only until later while they were cooped up in Kazuichi's shiny (salvaged) new workshed, working on Mechanami, that the girl whose likeness they were building spoke up.<br/>"I think we should name him Dogmeat!" Chiaki said through the tinny laptop speaker.<br/>"Ew!" Kazuichi exclaimed, pulling up his welding mask to look at her with a frown, "that's an awful name."<br/>Although they had no visual, she sounded a bit like she was puffing up her cheeks. "No, it's not. Dogmeat is the name of your loyal companion in Fallout! The world ended for us too, and we're still trying our best to live, so that's why I think... the game matches, right?"<br/>"A video game dog?" the mechanic asked, still sceptical.<br/>"Right."<br/>Hajime mulled that over, the others might be inclined to reject that name, yet something about it did seem fitting.<br/>"Dogmeat, I'll suggest it for you," he told her.</p><p> </p><p>It was one of the nicer days when Hajime went out to check on the farming team's progress. Dogmeat was taking on his role as a shepherd like a pro, albeit to a handful of half-domesticated chickens. Chasing them around and back into their enclosures was a productive outlet for his natural herding drive and high energy.<br/>Akane was dancing around the little bugger as he wove and darted under her feet. She was trying her best to cart around a basket of squash and chives.<br/>"Woah!" she chuckled, "careful or Teruteru will chew me out for bruising the ingredients again."<br/>"And how often do you do that, Akane?" Hajime asked, leaning over a fence and giving her a knowing look.<br/>"Uh, only every other day! Jeez, never expected that guy to be so prickly..." she complained, ruffling her freshly-shorn hair.<br/>He laughed at that, really taking in the scene. Once he'd dreaded never making that sound ever again, and it wasn't as if it always came easy.<br/>"I didn't say anything funny!" she knocked him on the shoulder playfully, probably a lot harder than she intended, but he was a lot sturdier now, too.<br/>“Sorry, sorry,” he ribbed her lightly back, still chuckling.</p><p>He was really proud of those two for having everything running smoothly now. For all of Teruteru’s complaining, you could hear him sometimes softly marvel at the fact he had a fresh-stocked kitchen now. <br/>The long days they had spent eating out of cans and dry ration packs had been layered over with dread. At that point no one was sure the Future Foundation would still back them up if they ran out. Makoto could’ve been dead for all they knew, rotting in their headquarters with a sword in his back. Hajime was exhausted programming World Destroyer into all the pods and monitoring their responses. Applying Izuru’s skills wasn’t so easy, all the knowledge crowding his head gave him frequent migraines. Throughout that, surviving on small portions of shitty pre-packaged food they found in the island stores… He didn’t like to think about what would have happened if his classmates hadn’t woken up.<br/>Now? They were growing things and raising animals, like a real self-sufficient community. Sure Gundham still refused to keep cattle for slaughter and many (mainly Akane) missed the meat, but they had a healthy abundance of eggs and milk.</p><p>His reverie was interrupted before long, Dogmeat was pawing at his hands and huffing.<br/>“Do you want attention, boy?” Hajime asked.<br/>The little shepherd whined affirmatively. <br/>“Well, I guess you deserve a break!” he nodded, kneeling down to run his fingers through that long fur. Dogmeat tilted his head up and closed his eyes, tail thump-thumping on the baked dirt. Hajime picked up a loose stick, the dog’s ears immediately rose straight to attention.<br/>“Here,” he wiggled it, “fetch!” and threw it over the fence into the wild grass.<br/>Four legs went soaring over in that direction, tongue hanging wildly out as he searched for the target.<br/>“Are you distracting my hellhound from his duties? You cannot fathom the repercussions on our world if he does not protect our sacred flock!” Gundham shouted.<br/>“Yes, yes,” Hajime called back, “just one game.”<br/>“Very well,” his friend nodded.<br/>He played with Dogmeat until they were both worn out. At that point, one of the chickens had dashed off away from its enclosure to escape back into the wild. Before anyone else had time to react, Gundham had already swooped down and expertly plucked it up, holding both its wings tightly against the side of its body. The thing beeped at him indignantly. Looks like the true shepherd king was still the ultimate breeder. His eyeliner was leaking a bit from the sweat of working out in the sun and his carefully gelled black-and-gray hair was straying from form, but that was the face of a victorious man.</p><p> </p><p>He had been planning to go trail the beach quietly and try to defog his thoughts after that morning. He was focusing on the sound the crunching of the sand under his sneakers made when another one popped up on the periphery. A camera shutter clacking open and shut. He looked up to spot a head of red hair with her face pressed into a view-finder. Mahiru was out by the water taking a photoshoot with Black Cherub. Despite the dog’s lack of cooperation, she seemed to be handling herself quite well, changing angles every now and then. <br/>“Working on something?” he asked.<br/>She put the camera down around her neck, “hi, Hajime, the girls were complaining about a lack of decoration so I thought I’d take some nice photos for them.”<br/>“What about the boys?”<br/>“They can take their own photos,” she gave him a wry smile.<br/>He nodded, “harsh, but I understand.”<br/>Mahiru let out a small airy laugh, not really out of humour. The dog was wandering off now that she was no longer holding her attention, sniffing along the beach and smelling those crazy smells. <br/>“I guess I should return her to the patrol team soon, Peko tries to act stoic but she’s super attached already,” she commented, rubbing her arm awkwardly.<br/>Should he ask? It felt right to ask... but Mahiru wasn’t the most open person among them. To hell with it, “is something bothering you?”<br/>She huffed, a little annoyed he saw through her.<br/>“I’ve been trying to gently nudge Hiyoko away from her tendency to make fun of Mikan-” Hajime would call it relentless bullying, but he knew she saw the other girl through rose-coloured lenses, “with mixed success. But mostly? I’m just worried we haven’t earned this happy ending… is it really okay for us to live like this, dogs and all, after what we did to the world?” she stared off across the water to a mainland in chaos she couldn’t see.<br/>He felt a memory at the back of his mind, cloudy and painful, something about falling into despair. It gave him a headache to try and recall, so he let it go. “I don’t know,” he told her honestly.<br/>“I see,” she smiled at him, equal parts fond and equal parts sad, “that’s so like you to say, unreliable Hajime,” she teased. He knew she didn’t mean anything by her playful judgement of his character, and knew she understood how much of himself he had given for all of them.<br/>“Well, I can’t have the answer to everything,” he tried to respond in the same lighthearted tone, but it came out a little flatter than he intended. <br/>“True enough,” she nodded, then turned back and tried to spot Black Cherub among the wavy sand, “here girl, come here!” she called, waving one arm above her head. <br/>A dark blur darted over towards them at the sound of her voice, zigzagging its way over before sitting politely by the two of them. Her pointed ears and rigid posture made her look like a statue of Anubis.<br/>“Let’s get you back to those gangsters you love so much, huh?” Mahiru said, in that voice girls use to talk to animals they find endearing. The dog yapped. <br/>“I guess this is where we part ways for now, nice talking to you.” </p><p> </p><p>On the way back, he noticed some of the girls crowded around Nagito’s cabin. His cynical nature shone through as he sighed and quickened his pace. <br/>“Ah, Hajimeeeee!” Ibuki called out to him, cupping her mouth and waving energetically at him.<br/>“What is it?” he asked, equal parts concerned and cautious.<br/>“He wandered into the music venue while they were practicing a show and tripped on a wire,” Sonia explained, “a stage light fell on him, but we don’t know where Mikan is and he insists that he is fine!”<br/>Ibuki knocked on the door, frowning, “he locked us out!”<br/>Of course that would have happened. Damn.<br/>“Nagito, come open the door now or I’ll assume you can’t and find another way in,” Hajime said loudly, not in the mood to indulge his typical antics if he needed a medical examination. <br/>He heard shuffling of feet and the bolt turning. An overgrown white tuft of hair peeked around the edge.<br/>“Is the great Hajime worried about me? How thoughtful,” he teased quietly, an awkward laugh slipping in. <br/>“Go find Mikan,” he instructed the girls, and turning back to Nagito, “we’ve talked about this, you have to let us help if you get hurt or aren’t feeling well.”<br/>“It’s nothing,” he tried to reassure, inching the door closed again. Hajime stuck his foot in between the frame to stop it. “I wouldn’t want to bother our hardworking nurse,” the boy smiled half-heartedly. <br/>“Nope, that’s what she’s here for,” he refused to hear it, inviting himself inside. Technically he had that talent as well, but his memory wasn’t as reliable. He would rather put the group’s wellbeing in her hands. <br/>The room was as always, impeccably tidy, in stark contrast with the owner’s disheveled appearance. Hajime never noticed him having many personal belongings. Hm, strange, it was a little too empty. He recalled it should have been Nagito’s turn to keep Fortune. He tried to whistle for her.<br/>“Ah, you see,” Nagito began, noticing his confusion, “Ryota seemed a little high-strung when I saw him today, so I lent him the dog.”<br/>He sighed, well, it wasn’t like they could force him to take care of her; but they had made a schedule for a reason (and he’d probably benefit from that responsibility).</p><p>He sat down on one end of the bed, earning him a hesitant, if not slightly dazed, look. After a pause, Nagito joined him.<br/>“I’m just watching you until Mikan gets here, that’s all,” he explained himself.<br/>“Right, you and your tsun-tsun hair.”<br/>“Hey!” he protested. Nagito laughed, it didn’t seem as casual as usual. God, he was so thin. Hajime had noticed that during the Neo World Program, but it looked even more frightening on him as an adult. Skin tight around collarbones, shoulders too wide for his frame, his right hand delicate and ghostly next to his sturdy prosthetic one. <br/>“Has Kazuichi built any new machine lately?” he asked, tilting his head to the side as if listening for something. How off-topic. <br/>“No, we’re still working on Mechanami.”<br/>“How unusual, since I’ve been hearing this ringing since earlier…”<br/>Hajime stared at him, dumbfounded, “you have a concussion, don’t you?”<br/>He shook his head in response, but that made him groan and waver dizzily. Hajime reached forward and put his hands around his back instinctually, making him slowly lay down. It was a weird touch, caring but uncertain. The back of his mind still tingled with a danger response around Nagito. Their experiences from inside the game were very fresh cuts indeed.<br/>“Wow, so gentle, Hajime,” he smiled tenderly, “wonder if you have a little ultimate caregiver in you.”<br/>“I can’t remember,” he coughed uncomfortably and got up to fetch a glass of water from the side bathroom. The sloshing water was pumped directly from the ocean through a series of filters somewhere underneath their feet. This place had really once been a sophisticated resort. </p><p>There was a timid knock on the door.<br/>“I’ll get it!” Hajime blurted, not eager to face his ‘patient’ again despite himself.<br/>A victorious Ibuki and a flustered Mikan were waiting there.<br/>“I’m s-so sorry I’m late!” the nurse stammered, rushing in with her hands clasped together. It looked like she had gotten a fresh haircut from Copy (the affectionate nickname they had come up with for the imposter) that morning. It was very refreshing to see her tidied up.<br/>“Thanks for coming,” Hajime didn’t acknowledge the apology for her sake, “I’m pretty sure Nagito has a concussion, and you’re the best person to examine him.”<br/>“She was with Ryoooota petting his dog!” Ibuki said, loudly. Mikan squeaked.<br/>“That’s fine,” he reassured, “and thanks you too for bringing her here.”<br/>“No problem, Ibuki is at your service!” she was beaming at the praise.<br/>He wordlessly handed the cup off to Mikan and patted her shoulder in encouragement. This was his time to exit stage right. He only briefly caught Nagito’s disappointed expression as he left. Well, too bad. <br/>Head clouded with thoughts about the interaction that had just gone on, he nearly stepped on the tail of a pup trotting by. Fortune had followed Mikan all this way.<br/>“Hold on-” Ryota was jogging after her, already out of breath and holding a straw sunhat to his head in an attempt to fight off the frequent sunburns. She scooted to a stop, pawing at the cabin door.<br/>Still determined to get out of the way, “mind letting her in?” Hajime asked him. Ryota reluctantly opened the door and was immediately sucked in by an over-eager Ibuki. He clamped his mouth shut very tight as though he had nearly been about to scream from surprise when she grabbed him.<br/>Once again, the room was sealed and they were hidden from view. </p><p>At least the dog was now where she was most needed; among those who were the most volatile and had the most trauma between them. It wasn’t a perfect solution, they all knew that, but the atmosphere had been a little more lighthearted ever since that Future Foundation visit.<br/>As for Hajime? He was beginning to feel a little worn out.<br/>He returned to his own cabin to rest, although sundown was a ways away. Sleep was a slow grind, and fitful once achieved. He had another full day with all his forever classmates tomorrow, might as well get a head start...</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I started writing this while working a very stressful job as a sort of wish fulfillment, I think the kids deserve dogs<br/>It was also a pretty good excuse to use some tidbits from my post-game headcanons! Canon Akane isn't real don't worry go back to sleep bro</p></blockquote></div></div>
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